Bilingual puppet show to explore immigrant experience
Warwick “La Cosecha /The Harvest,” a bilingual mask and puppet drama that explores the experience of migrant workers in America, will be performed at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 16, at Camp Kutz in Warwick. The show will be presented by Arm-of-the-Sea Theater, an Ulster County-based performance troupe known for its lavish, large-scale productions that combine visual storytelling with live music in a style of magical realism. The performance in Warwick is sponsored by the Mid-Hudson Rural and Migrant Ministry. “La Cosecha” brings to life two archetypal figures: The Longing for Justice and The Longing for Something Better. Together they enact the story of Cesar, a young man from “south of the border” who has had to leave home to find work. But when he can’t pay the Coyote, who smuggled him across the border, Cesar becomes indentured to a labor contractor with a crew of migrant farm workers. There he is forced to confront the dark underbelly of the American Dream and, through a series of transformations, assert his humanity. Created by Arm-of-the-Sea directors Marlena Marallo and Patrick Wadden, the show’s richly painted paper-mache masks and puppet figures range in size from 12 inches to 10 feet tall. The live musical score features Dean Jones on trombone, keyboard and percussion with Juan Basilio Sanchez on guitar and vocals. The pair also provide Spanish and English voice-overs for the characters and narration. Meanwhile, Dale Gibbons, Carl Welden and Patrick Wadden are the quick-change artists who play multiple mask and puppet roles. Arm-of-the-Sea was founded in 1982 by Marallo and Wadden as way to fuse the visual, performing and literary arts into multi-layered performances accessible to audiences of many ages and walks of life. Their appearances this summer have included performances in New York at Lincoln Center’s Out of Doors Festival, Long Island University and Central Park as well as at Clearwater’s Hudson River Festival, Vermont’s Solarfest and the International Children’s Festival in Providence R.I. The production of “La Cosecha”t was made possible by grants from the Jim Henson Foundation, The Puffin Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Rural and Migrant Ministry, the sponsor of the Camp Kutz performance, is an interfaith organization whose members believe that inspiration comes from participation in the creation of a just world. The organization advocates for rural workers and runs youth empowerment programs. Last summer, members of their Youth Arts Group worked with Arm-of-the-Sea to help build visual elements for “La Cosecha” and then presented a workshop version of the show. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children. Camp Kutz is located on Bowen Road, off the Warwick Turnpike (County Route 21). For more detailed directions to the camp, visit http://kutz.urjcamps.org/directions. For information about Arm-of-the-Sea Theater, visit www.armofthesea.org.